1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an immune adsorbent for specifically adsorbing and removing an autoantibody and/or immune complexes considered to have a close relation to various diseases due to immune reactions in the living body, an adsorbing device utilizing this immune adsorbent and a blood purifying apparatus comprising this adsorbing device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, it has been considered that an autoantibody and/or immune complexes appearing in blood has a close relation causing or advancing of cancer, immune proliferative syndrome, autoimmune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematodes), and immume reactions (such as an allergic reaction or rejection at a transplantation of an internal organ).
Accordingly, it has been expected that specific adsorption and removal of an autoantibody and/or immune complexes from body fluid components, such as blood and plasma serum would be effective for preventing the advance of the above diseases, for relieving them and for expediting the remedy of these diseases.
As the immume adsorbent for attaining this object, there have been proposed an immune adsorbent comprising protein A fixed to an insoluble carrier, an acrylic acid ester type porous resin (for example, XAD-7 supplied by Rohm and Haas Co.) and a cation exchange member, such as carboxymethyl cellulose.
The immune adsorbent comprising protein A fixed to the insoluble carrier has a specific adsorbing capacity to an immuneglobulin and/or immune complexes, but, since protein A is a biologically active protein derived from yellow staphylococcus, this immune adsorbent is disadvantageous in that the starting material is difficult to obtain and the manufacturing cost is high. Furthermore, since the activity is unstable, deactivation is readily caused by handling at the fixing step or during storage after the fixing step. Moreover, when this immune adsorbent is used in the state where it is kept in contact with the body fluid, there is a risk of trouble occurring through the elution of protein A. Still further, it is very difficult to sterilize this immune adsorbent while preventing deactivation.
The acrylic acid ester type porous resin and carboxymethyl cellulose are insufficient in adsorbing capacity and adsorption specificity. Moreover, since they even adsorb albumin from the body fluid, an abnormal change in the osmotic pressure is caused and they cannot be used safely as a curing means.